Fuel Scale Charges from 1 May 2016

The VAT Fuel Scale Charge is a simplified way of taxing the private use of car fuel. If you use your business vehicle for private use you can claim all the VAT on road fuel as long as you apply the appropriate fuel scale charge.

You will need to know the CO2 emissions rating of your car. You can look this up on the DVLA website by entering your registration number and make of vehicle on the Vehicle Enquiry screen at https://www.gov.uk/co2-and-vehicle-tax-tools.

You then need to look up the current fuel scale charge value for your car, either for monthly/three monthly/annual (depending on how often you submit your VAT returns) and add this figure to the output box (box 1) on the VAT form.

If you have low mileage, and therefore low fuel costs, it may not be worth claiming the VAT if the fuel scale charge is more than the VAT you wish to reclaim.

Be aware that the fuel scale charges are amended each year, usually from 1 May, so check for current rates on the HMRC website.

For further information please see the links below:-

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-road-fuel-scale-charges-table/vat-updated-valuation-table-road-fuel-scale-charges-from-1-may-2016

https://www.gov.uk/fuel-scale-charge

If you would like to discuss Fuel Scale Charges further please contact Lynne Vaughan on 01382 312140 or Scott Kennedy on 01307 474274.